Love, Death & Robots: Volume 4 – Review | Netflix

LOVE, DEATH & ROBOTS: Volume 4 (or Season 4) on Netflix offers ten new genre short films. Great variety in style and story, so you should find something to your liking. Read our full Love, Death & Robots S4 review here!

LOVE, DEATH & ROBOTS: Volume 4 (or Season 4) is now on Netflix, and the genre anthology is very entertaining. You can easily watch it in one sitting, as some of the episodes are just a few minutes long.

I love some of the episodes of this fourth installment, while a few of them didn’t do much for me. Still, with these short runtimes, you can easily accept that each episode isn’t your cup of tea. And sometimes, I was even surprised by what I found myself enjoying.

Continue reading our Love, Death & Robots S4 review below. Find all ten episodes of Volume 4 on Netflix from May 15, 2025.

A quick rundown of Volume 4

In this fourth season (or volume) of Love, Death & Robots, we’re getting the same very diverse (which is not, nor has it ever been, a bad thing) storytelling. Also, while this series is usually animated in various ways, this season has one live-action episode as well.

We’ll do a quick rundown of each episode. This will include details like the director and writer of each episode, along with our rating of it. Keep in mind that many of these stories are less than ten minutes long, but I assure you they’ll make an impact.

As always, creators David Fincher and Tim Miller are presenting the series and are directing episodes.

“CAN’T STOP” is Episode 1 of Volume 4 (S4E1)

Experience Red Hot Chili Peppers as string puppets in this Volume 4 opener directed by David Fincher, who made his name as a music video director.

Director: David Fincher
Music, Lyrics, & Performance: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Animation Studio: Blur Studio.
Voice Cast: Anthony Kiedis, Flea, John Frusciante, Chad Smith

Our rating: 3/5
“Can’t Stop” is visually gorgeous and a fun opener, but nothing more.

“CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE MINI KIND” is Episode 2 of Volume 4 (S4E2)

This is classic Love, Death & Robots and showcases exactly what I love about the Netflix anthology. See how tiny terror can create an apocalypse in record time because human beings make awful split-second decisions.

Director: Robert Bisi & Andy Lyon
Writer: Robert Bisi & Andy Lyon
Animation Studio: BUCK

Our rating: 5/5
“Close Encounters of the Mini Kind” is a super short story with a lot of content to cover – and comedy to boot. Perfect for anyone who loved episode 4 of Vol. 3 from the same filmmakers.

“Spider Rose” is Episode 3 of Volume 4 (S4E3)

If you’re a fan of the cyberpunk universe of “Swarm” (from Volume 3), then you’re in luck, because we return to this universe. A grieving Mechanist gets a new companion that changes everything as she seeks revenge for her husband.

Director: Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Writer: Joe Abercrombie, based on the short story by Bruce Sterling
Animation Studio: Blur Studio
Voice Cast: Emily O’Brien, Feodor Chin, Piotr Michael & Sumalee Montano

Our rating: 4/5
“Spider Rose” is a visual masterpiece with a story that is fueled by vengeance but will pull on your heartstrings.

“400 Boys” is Episode 4 of Volume 4 (S4E4)

Set in a post-apocalyptic city full a gangs that must come together to fight the latest gang: The 400 Boys.

Director: Robert Valley
Writer: Tim Miller, based on the short story by Marc Laidlaw
Animation Studio: Passion Animation, a Division of Passion Pictures
Voice Cast: John Boyega, Ed Skrein, Sienna King, Dwane Walcott, Rahul Kohli, Pamela Nomvete & Amar Chadha-Patel

Our rating: 3/5
“400 Boys” wasn’t my cup of tea. It didn’t really strike a nerve with me as the animation style combined with the story just didn’t hit home with me. However, I am certain others will love it.

“The Other Large Thing” is Episode 5 of Volume 4 (S4E5)

This is the story of a cat who desires world domination. His idiotic humans have named him “Sanchez”, which he rejects, but when they bring home a new robotic butler (John Oliver), the two join forces, and the mastermind plan of the cat escalates quickly.

Director: Patrick Osborne
Writer: John Scalzi
Animation Studio: AGBO
Voice Cast: Chris Parnell, John Oliver, Fred Tatasciore & Rachel Kimsey

Our rating: 5/5
“The Other Large Thing” is easily my favorite episode of Love, Death & Robots: Volume 4. Not that I didn’t enjoy many others, but I could’ve watched a feature film or an entire series of this world.

“Golgotha” is Episode 6 of Volume 4 (S4E6)

One of the rare live-action entries in the Love, Death + Robots anthology series. We meet a conscientious vicar (Rhys Darby), being an emissary of an alien race who believes their messiah has been reborn on earth… as a dolphin. Yes, this is about a Dolphin-Jesus.

Director: Tim Miller
Writer: Joe Abercrombie, based on the short story by Dave Hutchinson
Animation Studio: Luma Pictures (VFX)
Voice Cast: Rhys Darby, Moe Daniels, Graham McTavish, Phil Morris, Michelle Lukes & Matthew Waterson

Our rating: 4/5
“Golgotha” is a short and simple story that gets the job done. I liked it even if it wasn’t the most fleshed-out story. Seeing live-action in the middle of all the animation threw me for a second, but it wasn’t a bad thing. There are still lots of special effects in the episode.

“The Screaming of the Tyrannosaur” is Episode 7 of Volume 4 (S4E7)

We’re on a space station orbiting Jupiter, where decadent aristocrats are “enjoying” gladiator matches involving dinosaurs as part of a wedding celebration. Oh, and the gladiators are (of course) genetically modified as well. Who will come out on top?! Watch it to find out.

Director: Tim Miller
Writer: Tim Miller, based on the short story by Stant Litore
Animation Studio: Blur Studio
Voice Cast: MrBeast & Bai Ling

Our rating: 4/5
“The Screaming of the Tyrannosaur” offers a story that feels very classic despite the heavily sci-fi-inspired world. I loved the story, the visual style, and the execution, so I was a happy camper. Especially the ending was quite satisfying, I must admit.

“How Zeke Got Religion” is Episode 8 of Volume 4 (S4E8)

With this short, we’re back in World War II and onboard the B-17 Flying Fortress Liberty Belle. Currently, the plane and crew are on the oddest mission of the Second World War: Fly into occupied France and bomb a church where the Nazis are trying to raise an ancient evil.

Director: Diego Porral
Writer: J.T. Petty, based on the short story by John McNichol
Animation Studio: Titmouse
Voice Cast: Keston John, Braden Lynch, Roger Craig Smith, Gary Furlong, Bruce Thomas, Andrew Morgado & Scott Whyte

Our rating: 4/5
“How Zeke Got Religion” is another strong story told in a simple but very efficient way. Once again, you feel like this story could be used in a feature film of some kind.

“Smart Appliances, Stupid Owners” is Episode 9 of Volume 4 (S4E9)

In the penultimate episode of Volume 4, we’re getting a very short and extremely funny short film. Witness the poor smart appliances reveal increasingly strange tales of how their human owner use (and often misuse) them for various purposes.

Directed by Patrick Osborne, of Vol. 3 favorite “Three Robots: Exit Strategies.”
Director: Patrick Osborne
Writer: John Scalzi
Animation Studio: Aaron Sims Creative
Voice Cast: Melissa Villaseñor, Ronny Chieng, Amy Sedaris, Kevin Hart, Josh Brener, Nat Faxon, Niecy Nash-Betts & Brett Goldstein

Our rating: 5/5
“Smart Appliances, Stupid Owners” is another favorite episode of Volume 4. I wanted to rewatch it as soon as it ended. Notice the many amazing and familiar voices in the episode.

“For He Can Creep” is Episode 10 of Volume 4 (S4E10)

With the final episode of Love, Death + Robots Vol. 4, we’re going back in time to London in 1757. There, we meet a poet who has been confined to an insane asylum because he believes Satan wants him to write a verse that will end the world.

Fortunately, his cat Jeoffry is there to help him battle the Prince of Darkness.

Director: Emily Dean
Writer: Tamsyn Muir, based on the short story by Siobhan Carroll
Animation Studio: Polygon Pictures Inc.
Voice Cast: Dan Stevens, JB Blanc, Jim Broadbent, Nika Futterman, Jane Leeves & Dave B. Mitchell

Our rating: 4/5
“For He Can Creep” is a really good episode, but watching it right on the heels of “Smart Appliances, Stupid Owners” isn’t ideal. I wish they had made this episode the penultimate and allowed episode 9 to be the finale instead. I think it would’ve worked better.

Watch Love, Death & Robots: Volume 4 on Netflix now

As always, creators David Fincher (Se7en, Mindhunter, The Killer) and Tim Miller (Deadpool, Terminator: Dark Fate) are presenting the series and are directing episodes.

Back as supervising directors for all ten short films is Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Kung Fu Panda 2, Kill Team Kill). This Netflix anthology series offers a brilliant and award-winning style-hybrid of animation that showcases Horror, Sci-Fi, and Comedy in short story form.

Whether you love Dinosaur gladiators, Cats plotting for world domination, Rock stars as string-puppets, or a post-apocalyptic world threatened by giant killer babies, Love, Death & Robots should have something that will tickle your fancy. Enjoy!

All 10 episodes of Love, Death & Robots S4 are on Netflix from May 15, 2025.